The Winter Glow

I have probably mentioned the narrow window of daylight around here come winter. The days are short and the nights are LONG. So long that it's easy to convince yourself that it's time to wind down around shortly after 4:00pm rolls around. For instance, yesterday, my housemate locked us in at 6:00pm because she figured that we'd be in for the night! We were.

Anyway, didn't mean to get carried away about the darkness. The topic for today is the light. Light in winter is precious, but it's also strange...in a beautiful way...well, to me at least. It's almost as if sunrise and sunset collide to make it. Enough talk, this is a show & tell post:

Sunrise* to Sunset**

*Obviously that sunrise wasn't insanely early, as I make it a point these days not to wake up insanely early

**The Sunset picture was taken at precisely 3:24pm

Thanksgiving at 9 Habost

This year's thanksgiving was my first Thanksgiving spent in Scotland, and it was pretty good...if I do say so myself. Here's some pics taken on the night...

Pic #1: Our heavy laden coffee table. Please mentally add freshly baked rolls to this picture.

Dinner was a bit weird without an actual table, but it's not like I've never eaten a Thanksgiving meal without a normal table. My dad's side of the family puts the kids at a gorgeous Korean Tea Table every year. I've long since grown out of that category, but that doesn't mean I don't remember the awesomeness of it.

Pic #2: Spreading the Thanksgiving cheer.

We headed across the street for the weekly Ness Melodeon Club get-together (I attempt to play the guitar with them), but this week came with food and the appropriate headgear. See mine? I felt like I was rediscovering my native american roots...I'm 1/4 Chickahominy on my mothers side.

Pic #3: Not only did everyone try our very American vittles, but they also voluntarily conformed to the dress code!

That made my night!

A Soup Discovery

Having chicken noodle soup when I'm sick seems instinctive after 20+ years of positive reinforcement. I think most Americans can relate. Remember the Chicken Soup for the Soul phenomenon anyone? That proves it, I am not alone here.

Anyway, rewind about a year and a half, and I'm boarding a plane to Scotland completely unconcerned about leaving the material comforts of home. Well, maybe at the back of my mind I'm wondering about Mountain Dew and Raid... My point is that I assumed that chicken noodle soup would be there when I needed it, in such a technologically advanced country.

Technically it was I suppose... just with an unidentifiable exotic tang. What is that? What is that tang? Whatever it is, it does not belong in my ultimate comfort food.

Enter Baxter's Chicken Broth.

It says Chicken Broth, but it should say Chicken & Rice Sunshine Soup. Thanks to the latest wave of sinus-related achy-ness, after a year and a half, I've discovered this perfect substitution. Yes, it's out of a can, but remember, I am American and that actually adds to its appeal.

What is the most Haunted city in England?

York! The answer is York! How do I know? Because the leader of the excellent York Ghost Walk said so.

So what in the world was I doing in York? Well, I decided that going straight to London and back would be a waste of a train ticket, so I tacked on an extra day and stopped off in York on the way home. It turned out to be one of the best ideas I'd had all month. Here's a few pics:

The old town wall is still in place...just in case?

York Minster was supposed to be the main event...

I ended up spending most of Day 1 in the shops instead...

I would not consider myself superstitious...but after the creepy ghost walk,

coming back to a convent felt pretty good. Something about knowing there

were nuns all over the place was comforting. I mean, who could get

spooked in a room named St. Luke's Room?

What can I say... I live a charmed life! Most of the time... Tonight, however, I feel a cold coming on and my yucky green tea is...well.. yucky.

Down in Jolly Old England

I've been in Scotland for a year and a half, traveled around Europe and into Ireland, but until last week I'd never been to England. But, lucky me, I had to make a spur of the moment trip to London to get my fingerprints digitally scanned. Yes, to get my fingerprints digitally scanned.

My Visa expires on January 6th, 2011, and since I'll be needing it to get back into the country on the 5th (after a much anticipated 2 weeks at home), I had to get right on it. Glasgow's Home Office didn't have an open slot until November, so I HAD to travel down to London. Score!

Here's some pics of my time at the British Museum in London:

Scarabs! Flashbacks of The Mummy made me recoil at first sight of these critters.

Another Lewis Chessmen Exhibit! The Isle is never too far away :)

This Egyptian game was possibly my favorite discovery in the Museum.

My sisters and I used to play what we thought was a good replica of this game...inspired by the legendary epic The Ten Commandments.

Next time in On This Side of Things- A trip to the most Haunted city in England!

Rail Trip!

A random London park

I am a packing list fiend. I, without fail, compile a packing list for any overnight trip I make. The only time I skip this step is when I use a list I've already made (and saved) for the destination in question. Of course, like most people, I still forget things somehow, and as I embarked on an 18hr trip to London yesterday, I forgot something I never thought I could.

A PEN!!! That's write (oops...). That's right. I found myself on a train leaving Inverness without a pen... Without a writing instrument of any kind!

Me! The girl that ALWAYS has at least 3 pens of different sizes and colors in EVERY purse/bag she owns. At least I did until I went OCD on completely cleaning out & storing away my backpack in between trips.

FAIL.

And...to intensify my pen craving, my London Trip novel of choice is Paper: The Dreams of a Scribe. Here's a quote for ya:

He was full of energy, invigorated by crime, ready for paper. But what paper could he use? Where were the luminous sheets of moonshine with the watermark of a star, where were the papers woven with silk filaments of the sun?

But all he had was prostituted straw.

Well buddy, we've all got our problems.

Airplanes...

Have I mentioned that I love airplanes? Well, I do, I love airplanes. I love the freedom that comes with being in an airport and knowing that it's possible to start your day at home and end up somewhere COMPLETELY different.

A couple weeks ago, I woke up at home, on the northern tip of the Isle of Lewis, and by the end of the day, I was in a B&B in Vienna, Austria. With very little physical exertion of my own, mostly just sitting and waiting all day. I ended up in another country, seeing road signs for exotic locations such as Budapest!

We were only in Vienna for 3 full days, but I'm quite proud of what I managed to see. Of course I'd like to go back, but I'm content all the same. Vienna was gorgeous! So warm! I could walk around without even a jacket most of the time, and that was possibly my favorite part.